Industry leaders discuss EV future in India at ETAuto EV Conclave

The event was addressed by over 30 eminent speakers and witnessed the participation of more than 400 delegates from across the country, and it was supported by industry partners like Mahindra Electric, JBM, Govt of Telangana, Infineon and Western Digital.ETAuto | Updated: February 13, 2018, 15:54 IST

Delhi Govt’s Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia announced that the state government envisions to make all vehicles in the capital switch to an all-electric mode in the next 20 years.New Delhi: ETAuto, an initiative of The Economic Times, organised ETAuto EV Conclave 2018 in the city recently. The event was addressed by over 30 eminent speakers and witnessed the participation of more than 400 delegates from across the country.

Speaking at the Conclave, Delhi Govt’s Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia announced that the state government envisions to make all vehicles in the capital switch to an all-electric mode in the next 20 years. “Delhi is soon going to launch a bus terminal, run 100% on an electric mode,” he added.

Sisodia further said, "We will address all administrative issues. Technical issues are beyond us and we need to partner with the industry for that. We have to work together on this."

Addressing the delegates through a pre-recorded video message, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari spoke about the potential of electric vehicles not only in the domestic market but also for exports.

He said, “In the domestic market, GST has already been reduced to promote electric vehicles that will add as a further impetus in the local market in terms of public transportation.”

“The government has tied up with London Transport, a local government body responsible for transport in Greater London. They would help in electrification of taxis and buses for promoting public transport in India,” Gadkari added.

Mahindra & Mahindra managing director Pawan Goenka, in his keynote address, said: “The biggest opportunity for the Make in India vision will be in adopting EV technology in the country not only for high-end personal performance vehicles but for daily commute in public transportation and for providing last mile connectivity.”

Goenka suggested that a slower adoption of electric vehicles would be a wiser step towards an all-EV industry to ensure workers don’t lose their jobs. “EVs should not grow faster than the localization rate of EV components like electric powertrain, motors, battery module, power electronics, lightweighting technology and software that will see an intense usage in this industry,” he added.

Vikram Kirloskar, vice-chairman of Toyota Kirloskar Motor and promoter of the Kirloskar Group, advocated hybrid electric vehicles as the best technology in terms of adoption of electric vehicles. “These are expected to garner the maximum customer acceptance and accrue in benefits for the society. While still costly, with ramp up in volumes it can become economically viable for the consumers,” he said.

He also argued that battery operated vehicles did not necessarily mean the cleanest technology. “How much CO2 emissions electric vehicles will be able to reduce, would depend on CO2 generated from power plants. With current India’s grid mix, hybrid technology has relatively higher advantage over EVs in terms of well-to-wheel CO2 emissions. Even small petrol cars can be better than large battery-operated vehicles, but for coal-based economies, HEVs are better than EVs,” he said.

Addressing the conclave, Nikunj Sanghi, director, Federation of Automobile Dealers' Association (FADA), said, "Electric vehicles require 1% of components, when compared with conventional fuel driven cars. Service requirements will reduce drastically, which raises the question, will many dealers be required in future if there are no servicing needs?”

Mass-scale introduction of electric vehicles in the market will compel dealerships to evaluate their business models, said Sanghi.

Nirman Minda, president, Auto Component Manufacturers Association (ACMA), added, “Since over half of the turnover in the auto parts industry today comes from internal combustion engines (ICE), a roadmap needs to be worked out while transitioning to electric vehicles to ensure there is no major disruption in terms of employment opportunities.”

Renault India MD Sumit Sawhney said, while the move to electric vehicles is inevitable, a clear policy outline from the government is necessary. "If we have projections regarding potential volumes for EVs, the component industry will get cracking. That will only happen once we have clarity regarding government policy, based on which we can start work on electric vehicle projects for the Indian market," he concluded.

​​This comes as a surprise to the industry as Rakesh was recently elevated to the position of Directo Sales and Marketing which was the third promotion for him in six years of his tenure in the company.